Dell Children's Medical Center has treated its first case of MIS-C

AUSTIN, Texas - Dell Children's Medical Center says they treated its first case of a COVID-related syndrome "multisystem inflammatory syndrome" or MIS-C along with a few other suspected cases in children.

The syndrome is surfacing in children worldwide. The CDC says it's a condition where different body parts can become inflamed in many children that have had the virus that causes COVID-19 or have been around someone with it.

Dell Children's says they don't know what causes MIS-C yet but say it's serious, even deadly but most children who were diagnosed have gotten better with medical care. 

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Infection prevention team members at Dell Children's say they're working closely with the CDC and local public health authorities to detect, protect, and respond in accordance with current recommendations and guidelines. Dell Children's has comprehensive and detailed protocols in place to safely manage any MIS-C patients or COVID-19 patients.​

​Due to patient privacy, they're not releasing further information right now, but the associate chief of pediatrics at the Austin Regional Clinic, Dr. Elizabeth Knapp, gave more information on the syndrome.​

"It's a severe illness where multiple parts of your body are not working well internally it will show up in kids with a high prolonged fever for many days in a row as well as many signs of being sick," Knapp said. ​

Knapp described the symptoms that parents should watch out for. "Very tired looking, not able to get out of bed perhaps vomiting, diarrhea, severe belly pain, and often these kids have rashes or redness in the white part of their eye, maybe some swelling in their hands and feet," she said.

​Knapp says recovery time is unknown, but they do know most children had to be in the hospital in the intensive care unit to get advanced life-saving technology so it can be a very scary time for families.​

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"MIS-C presents very similarly to another sickness that we have known about for years called Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome, it has features in both of those," Knapp said. "We're all tuned into what testing needs to be done and treatment for the child.​"

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Dell Children's says parents or caregivers who have concerns about their child’s health, including concerns about  MIS-C or COVID-19 should call a pediatrician or other healthcare provider immediately.  

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